Writing Poetry Like Pros

Why do writers choose the language they do? Here's a resource that has the poet himself answer that very question. Joseph Coelho explains why he chose the words and images he used in his poem, "If All the World Were Paper."

Young poets use word cards to prompt a metaphor poem comparing to very dissimilar items.

What do Lady Gaga and Dame Edith Sitwell have in common? As they examine Sitwell's poetry, class members learn that the similarities are far more than their unique appearance.

Construct from a canvas of words, lyrical expressions that your budding poets can share and post.  Based on refrigerator magnet poetry, creative writers can develop their poetry independently, or from a given prompt from their instructor.  

Young poets get inspiration and guidance for making word association poems with the Visual Thesaurus. Your class could complete this project with nothing more than a pencil and paper as well. A nice one-off for a substitute during your...

What makes a great poem sound so good? Learn the rhythmic secrets of poetry with an explanatory online lesson.

Fifth graders read poetry.  In this analyzing lesson plan, 5th graders read the poem "The Road Not Taken" and analyze the poem stanza by stanza to determine the meaning of the poem.  Students use the strategies learned to read another...

A great way to bring poetry and parody into your language arts classroom, this instructional activity mimics famous poems based on Jon Scieszka's Science Verse. The activity not only allows the class to see examples of poem parodies, but...

Students write and perform poetry. For this poetry presentation lesson, students learn about the concept of a poetry slam. Students plan and hold their own poetry slam.